Harden gets glimpse of future he envisioned with Rockets

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James Harden pulled up to the day’s event in Manila and tried to describe the scenes that have greeted him through every stop in the basketball-mad Philippines. He had done these sorts of promotional tours before. This was not even his first this offseason. But this one had inspired the sort of fanaticism few fan bases in the world can match.

“Amazing,” he said. “I’ve been here before, so I’m kind of used to it, but it’s a beautiful city, nice people. The fans are definitely crazy out here. I can only imagine what October is going to be like when we come out here and have that preseason game. They’re excited. I’m just trying to get them ready for it.”

In many ways, however, it serves to get him ready, too, with the Rockets expected to jump from relative obscurity, at least compared to Harden’s NBA Finals and Olympics experiences, to one of the league’s celebrated teams.

The introduction of Dwight Howard as their latest elite center offered a glimpse, and they will get a taste with the preseason games against the Indiana Pacers in the Philippines and Taiwan. All that should serve as a prelude to the assorted Christmas Day and national television appearances that will come along with far greater expectations.

This is what Harden envisioned when he was traded from the Oklahoma City Thunder days before last season, saying he knew he would have to take a step back from the Western Conference championship team, but believed the Rockets could be built into a contender in time. He never guessed how long it would take, but by the All-Star break in Houston, he had begun recruiting Howard to join him.

“I didn’t know what to expect,” Harden said. “Just coming over (to the Rockets), I was just trying to figure things out. Now, having Dwight, we have a lot more attention, a lot more focus on our team. It’s my job to be more locked in, to be more of a leader, to make sure I’m doing more of the small things. That will be taken care of.”

With that in mind, Harden and Howard got together the night Howard announced his intention to sign with the Rockets to plan their partnership. Before the first downtown celebration, before the first ‘H-Town’ billboard was unveiled, Harden and Howard and discussed the level of commitment necessary to lead the Rockets. Harden has called Howard “the best big man” in the NBA, but when they spoke, it was more about doing those “small things,” including the Los Angeles workouts he and Howard organized.

“I actually went over to his place, and we just talked about things we needed to do to be successful,” Harden said. “It isn’t going to be easy, but the small things, making sure we’re focused and locked in every single practice, every single game, make sure we’re on the same page. If we do those things throughout the entire season, our games become easier.

“I actually called everybody to set everything up to make sure everybody come out and work out, trying to make Dwight feel comfortable and get acclimated to what we’re doing and try to introduce him to everybody. We just worked out, played pick-up a little bit and just had fun with each other.”

Those easy, low-pressure get-togethers of summer will soon be replaced by intense scrutiny and expectations, but as Harden prepared for another promotional appearance, it was all new and exciting. In a few moments, he would be surrounded by giddy fans in a prelude not just of the Rockets’ trip in the Philippines, but he hopes of the season to follow.

“I’ve come a long way,” Harden said. “It’s something I had to build up. It didn’t just happen overnight. It feels good to come over here and people actually know who I am.”

Moments later, another event had begun, bringing another reminder of the trip with the team in October, and in a way, for the sort of attention that is only just beginning.